I'm Lieven (for those of you wondering, it’s a Flemish name, meaning “kind friend” :) ). I’m 36 years old and not very active on couchsurfing, I don’t live in a big city but on the countryside, so people rarely ask to stay in my village – most of them just wanna visit Brussels. As I work in Brussels, I’d be happy to share some tips with you, or go out for a drink / lunch / ... .

Like most people out here, I imagine, my parents introduced me to traveling taking my sisters and me with them on trips in Belgium and neighbouring countries and to Italy when we were older. (I grew up with my two sisters. Yes I’m the youngest. No I don’t think it made me a spoilt little brat :P ; although as a kid I probably acted like one at times).

Throughout the years I’ve been visiting a lot of countries, mostly all around Europe (easy access, not expensive and plenty to see!) visiting well known and lesser known cities. After visiting yet another church , I finally decided to focus more on nature and nowadays I strongly prefer spending time out in nature to being in crowded cities. For a while I was really into wine & cycling, and there are plenty of wine tours to take. The passion for wine has cooled down, and I have to admit I’ve gotten out of shape. But I still think traveling by bike is a great way to discover countries. I have not yet travelled by bike taking all my equipment on the bike, so this year I thought it was time to give that a try. I’ll be visiting a friend in Zurich and take advantage of me being in the country to cycle from Lausanne to Austria. Tips of things to see / places to stay are welcome (hopefully I won’t need your help for repairs! :) ).

In everyday life I’m an HR professional, I have some experience as a manager but am currently working as an expert, essentially working in learning & development and performance management. Having tremendously enjoyed my experiences as a manager, I’m especially interested in leadership culture and building & improving teams.
I was trained as a psychologist at KU Leuven University, a very broad and interesting study I could recommend to all that are interested, as it gave me a nice framework to think critically and understand different aspects of life (both in everyday life & inside an organisation).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I’ve already had travel partners with whom things went catastrophically, lots of disagreements, issues , etc. Luckily, I’ve already had excellent travel partners as well that joined me in unforgettable travels.

But traveling on my own, I find, is still a great way to really experience the time abroad. Of course, meeting up with locals makes it all the more intense and brings the right balance between alone time and time to discuss several things with people from another cultural background.

Being Belgian, I like to simply grab a drink and have a discussion about different things (life in general, people, politics – although I’m of the opinion that all the parties are just more of the same , sports, heck even discussions with flat earthers would interest me :) – never good to refute any views without first having a debate,research into the other's position, ... ).

Interests

I read a lot (always loved to read – but during a long time I let work come in the way of reading) : mostly non-fiction, books about HR, Psychology, Nutrition, Food, Health in general, ... ). Having some health issues 5 years ago, I’ve searched some helpful strategies and found plenty of interesting stuff which I would’ve totally knocked when I was younger (meditation, gratitude, ... ).

Throughout life I have found that continual change is necessary to keep on improving and holding on to your beliefs/dogmas simply won’t do you any good.

• books
• wine
• meditation
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• sports
• psychology

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a very eclectic taste in music, liking metal, dance, singer/songwriters, ...
Music: Jason Molina, Damien Rice, Slayer, Radiohead, Machine Head (older albums), Daft Punk (earlier work), Nina Simone, Kyuss, QOTSA, The Black Keys, Mark Lanegan, ...
Movies: Inception, Captain Fantastic, Abre los Ojos, Inglorious Basterds, Gangs of New York, The Departed, 21 Grams, L'Appartement, Woody Allen movies (some of them are awful too), ...
Books/Authors: Informative books, Mark Sisson, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera, Fahrenheit 451, Michel Houellebecq, ...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A 10-day road trip to Norway in 2004 totaling 5500 km, the landscape was so impressive and unbelievably beautiful! I was traveling with a friend of mine and one of his friends who I hadn't met before the trip. Traveling together made that we all became best friends, a great experience!

What I Can Share with Hosts

If you think you might enjoy my company, let me know and I’ll gladly and thankfully discover the magical places of your city together with you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium